Summary

In these witty and entertaining stories about misbehaving dogs, John Wright, one of the country's top behaviorists--and probably the only one who's been making house calls for 16 years--takes you with him on his rounds to show how he helps beleaguered dog lovers come to terms with their misbehaving pets. Wright has used his intimate knowledge of animal psychology to solve behavior problems ranging from the serious to downright funny. A great storyteller, Wright shares hilarious and insightful first-person anecdotes to help clients understand and appreciate why their dogs act the way they do, and to solve some unusually knotty problems--and, of course, to keep Fido out of trouble in the future! With the skill of a seasoned mystery writer, Wright gets to know the families and their lifestyles first, even the layout of their homes, before analyzing all the vexing doggy clues. He sheds expert light on topics such as coping with puppies and new dogs, right and wrong ways to discipline a pet, and specifically canine behavioral problems like aggression, having "accidents," phobias, and more.

Booklist Review

Two new books on dog behavior take different approaches to the subject. Dodman, author of The Dog Who Loved Too Much (1996), hopes that his new book will become the "Dr. Spock" for dog owners, and in this goal he has succeeded admirably. Covering behavioral traits and problems from A (aggression) to Z (zoonosis), the author's accessible writing style makes difficult concepts easy to understand. Not only does he describe canine foibles such as chewing, barking, and eating everything they can find, he shows how these little problems can mutate into major behavioral abnormalities. Many of the definitions are illustrated with tales from the author's practice treating behavioral problems, making the book extremely user-friendly. The index will prove very useful for desperate dog owners. In The Dog Who Would Be King, Wright describes numerous dogs with behavioral problems and explains his methods for helping them learn new ways of interacting with their owners. Witty stories take the reader into a number of households with misbehaving dogs, and Wright, an applied animal behaviorist, describes how he ferrets out the roots of their vices. Starting with the chilling case of King, a German shepherd that bit his family whenever they did something he didn't like (the unraveling of this control freak dog's behavior is the entire book in a microcosm), Wright goes on to describe scores of stories about dogs of less than sterling character. Though this book is not a "how to" for readers to change their own dogs as much as a means of learning that help can be had from specialists (and that most dogs can be helped), it makes for fascinating reading. Dogs Behaving Badly, while just as fun to read, represents more of a practical approach to problem dogs. Both books have much to recommend them to all libraries. --Nancy Bent

Publisher's Weekly Review

What would you do if your dog was terrified of your new lover? Or if she ate her way through your new kitchen cabinets to hide from a thunderstorm? Applied animal behaviorist Wright's (Is Your Cat Crazy?) latest book tells how he helps exasperated owners solve these and other shaggy dilemmas, including the dog who left "voodoo" drawings on his owners' white carpet while they were away at work and the family that couldn't eat at home because their German shepherd would swipe their food from the table. Wright also covers more ordinary cases of doggy phobias, separation anxieties and aggression. In between cases histories, Wright donates valuable advice on topics such as choosing and training puppies, merging pet households and reading your hound's body language (hint: not every wagging tail is friendly). Best of all, Wright demonstrates inspired, and sometimes humorous, insight into the motives of mischievous canines and their befuddled owners. Agent: Jim Frenkel. Author tour. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Library Journal Review

Wright, a professor of psychology and certified applied animal behaviorist, shares entertaining stories about misbehaving dogs from his personal case histories. Meet King, who wouldn't let his owners get out of bed at night. Then there's Wizard, who was so worried that his owner would abandon him that the owner had to leave for work every morning through the bedroom window. After 16 years of making house calls, Wright has learned to know the families and their lifestyles first before analyzing the dog's problem. This is not a "how to" bookÄthe treatments described are all custom-tailored for one particular animal in its home. Instead, Wright focuses on altering behavior rather than the pet's personality. Drawing from his experiences, he provides insight on topics such as coping with puppies and new dogs, the right and wrong ways to discipline a pet, and specific canine behavioral problems like aggression (biting) and phobias (fear of thunderstorms). This work nicely complements Nicolas Dodman's The Dog Who Loved Too Much (LJ 8/97). For large public library collections.ÄEva Lautemann, Georgia Perimeter Coll. Lib., Clarkston (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.